How to Screen Prospective Daycare Families

New home daycare providers may accept new families into their care without giving much thought to the family itself. Everything seems great at the beginning. However, more experienced home daycare providers know what questions to ask and how to avoid potential disaster with a new family. One of the most important things you'll need to know about a potential family is related to the job situation of the parents. Here is what you need to ask them about and why you need to know.

Ask the parent or parents about how long they've been on their job and how many sick days they have. This is important because if they're new, they may have very little, if any sick days in the bank. The more children they have, the more likely they will need to have sick days available for themselves and their children.

Inquire as to the nature of the job they do. This could affect how easily they will be able to use a sick or vacation day to care for their sick child. If you get the sense that it would be difficult for them to use their vacation or sick days, think twice about accepting their child into your care.

In the event their child becomes ill, the parent will have to choose between sending their sick child to you and getting in trouble for calling off work. Having to make these kinds of choices could influence a parent to send their child to you with an illness and put you and the other children at risk. After all, in the parent's eyes, keeping their job is more important than you or your child getting sick. This is especially true in tough economic times and in situations where the parent doesn't have anyone else to care for their sick child.

In better job and life circumstances, most parents wouldn't send their kids to your home daycare with an illness. However, if they are a single parent, on their last leg at work, new to the job, and feel as if they have no other choice, you can count on their judgment being affected by it.

In summary, screen parents to find out whether they will have to use their survival instincts in decision making or whether their job circumstances will allow them the freedom to make choices that have everyone's best interest in mind.